Student Services

My First Edition: The Number 9 Newsie

Distributed in November, kids were invited to cut and color holiday decorations for the bus. Our bus was festive that Christmas!

Help A Driver Out

One of my favorites, the eye spy game! Trying to explain the difficulties a driver can have in the dark, this was a fun way for students and parents to understand some of a drivers' challenges.

There's Always A Quiz In School

This Newsletter has a crossword puzzle connected to the previous one. Some drivers gave a prize to students that returned a completed puzzle.

Visuals Can Often Be What Makes It Click

As mentioned before, student safety is a priority. Here was a visual to show kids the safest place to wait for the bus, otherwise known as the Designated Place of Safety.

Eventually, the Newsletters ended due to lack of support from other drivers and the Transportation Supervisor. I tried :)

In efforts to help with student rider behavior on the bus, and in conjunction with Ohio's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, I created a Newsletter for my bus riders.

With a recommendation from the Junior High School Principal, Mrs. Conley, and approval from the Director of Operations, Jon List, and the Board, I published The Traveling Times for all bus drivers to distribute to their riders. They had a space to add their own message to personally customize each issue.

Educating with Humor and Facts

Cafeteria Contributions

While I worked in the cafeteria, I identified numerous concerning issues and personally played a role in making improvements. These issues included, but were not limited to, cost effectiveness, state nutritional guidelines, and food safety. Some examples are below.

As a cook I had the opportunity to make some immediate changes. For example, caramel was made available next to a basket of whole apples. I portioned freshly sliced apples and served them with a peanut butter option. In addition to the apples, I wanted to make seasonal fruits and vegetables more appealing to the students. I put effort into cutting up everything: carrots, celery, strawberries, cantaloupe, etc. I even cut orange smileys. This reduced costs, improved nutritional value, and the kids loved it!

Since lunch time is limited, making food user-friendly was very important to me. When making salads, I would prepare all of the ingredients, so everything was bite sized and ready for students to dig right in.

When it came time to order inventory, it was a guessing game. There was no record system in place to keep track of how much was sold of each menu item. I created a system that accurately reflected sales, inventory, and purchasing. By knowing the actual data, we purchased the correct amount of product and we cooked the right amount of food, reducing waste and high food costs. Using some of that same information, I was able to accurately prepare for the next day service. This improved time management and efficiency.

Although some things were in my control to change, I had to report others through my chain of command which resulted in change eventually. For instance, pizza was being supplied by chain restaurants. While I was in a working group to identify ways of reducing costs, I broke down the pizza prices and found the cafeteria was losing money. There were occasions where bottled water was being substituted for free/reduced milk. This replacement did not match in nutritional value, nor was it cost effective.

Deep fat fryers were used regularly. Not only is this unhealthy, but school kitchens shouldn't be equipped with them. Inadequate equipment made service a challenge. A non-functioning steam table was being used as the hot serving line, unable to keep food warm, so we had to use a double-stacked oven to maintain the temperature of the cooked food, while cooking more food at the same time. This made for a well synchronized and performed juggling act. Honestly, I took great joy in our accomplishments with the tools we were provided.

Regarding food safety and storage issues; some were immediate changes I could implement and some needed to be reported. Proper storage, handling, and labeling were issues throughout the department in a variety of different ways. I handled each situation as best I could within my ability by either using correct practices or reporting to my supervisor.

After eventually meeting with Kent Morgan, Superintendent, Gale Luther, Director of Food Services, and Jen Knapp, Treasurer, a change in management occurred the following year and most of the problems were resolved or at least recognized as outstanding items.

"As long as we are responsible for your children,

we need to ensure we follow all Ohio safety rules and laws"